First Financial Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.51 (NASDAQ:THFF)

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

First Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 20.6% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 35.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

First Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ THFF opened at $49.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $584.95 million, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.49. First Financial has a 12 month low of $34.58 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.61 and a 200-day moving average of $47.08.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on THFF. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James O. Mcdonald purchased 1,000 shares of First Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,543.38. The trade was a 11.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin acquired 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $517,157.85. This represents a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 2,195 shares of company stock worth $111,625 over the last quarter. 3.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About First Financial

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. It also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans.